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Meat Substitutes-Which do you prefer?

What brand do you like? Which is your favorite product? I like the buffalo chix nuggets from whole foods a lot. Chop em up in a salad, it is delicious. I didn't like the morning star breakfast sausage patties. What do you recommend when buying a meat substitute?

24 Comments:

I actually LOVE Morning Star's Buffalo Wings. I love buffalo sauce and it practically tastes like chicken to me!

I also love Golden Gourmet's Vegetarian Schnitzel or Drumsticks. Both great!

Hillary
Chew on That

I'm trying to slowly phase into veganism but I LOVE Quorn's naked cutlets (http://www.quorn.us//cmpage.aspx?pageid=462&productid=152) (not vegan because they have egg whites in them). A serious meat-eating ex of mine used to eat these all the time with me and almost every omni I know who has tried one can't believe it's not meat.

I eat Morning Star chix patties in the morning....egg (nuked for 40 seconds), slice of pepper jack cheese, chix patty, squirt of sriracha all on an english muffin. I'm not sure I think it's good (the chix patty, that is) by itself...but it works wonderfully as a protein boost for my morning sandwich.

Boca Burgers. Not that they'll fool you into believing they're meat. Just good in their own right. We're big meat-eaters, but we eat Boca a couple times per month. Convenient, quick, tasty, nutritious.

any specific type of boca burger you like? there are so many flavors when it comes to burgers i never know which one i'm going to like. i'm not looking for something that tastes like meat ( i know that won't happen) just an alternative that tastes good.

"What do you recommend when buying a meat substitute?"

....second thoughts.

I'm pretty much with Hunter but if I'm going all-veg for a meal or two, I opt for a chick pea patty of my own making. I might (out of sheer desperation) saute up some tofu but it's basically air with whatever sauce you put on it.

I have had tempeh which I found unpalatably sour or bitter (can't remember, it was some time ago).

I have also had TVP which I found suprisingly palatable. I had it at Burritoville way downtown near Water Street. I had a "vegetarian chorizo" burrito that was out of this world. That was my default burrito, even though I'm a dedicate carnivore.

I've been eating Boca Burgers for years (before they went mainstream in the supermarkets) and have always felt that if you put enough stuff (lettuce, low fat mayo, vidalia onions, pickels, etc.) on them they taste like an okay, well-done hamburger. Always preferred the original flavor.
Try 'em!

Don't forget the ketchup

I'm with Hunter as well. But I still like Gardenburger original-(great with a whole wheat bun, shredded lettuce, provolone cheese & pepperidge farms sweet hot mustard!)
I like Garden burger because they don't make claims to be "meat like". But then again..I'm not a vegetarian, if I want something that tastes like meat- I just eat it.

i'm not a vegetarian so if i really want meat or chicken i'll eat it. i'm just looking for some alternatives for health and diet reasons.

bess, I too have been eating Boca since it was first available in CA -- back when it was a tiny, family-owned operation (it's now owned by Kraft). At least 15 years, but maybe more like 20.

I prefer the "original" variety, too. Ideally, if it's an option for you, I strongly recommend that you buy them Costco. Not only are they MUCH cheaper there, but they carry the food service size patties, which are substantially larger than the supermarket variety. They fit much better on a good-quality bun or kaiser roll (unless you ordinarily buy the small buns).

Personally, the other varieties don't appeal to me. However, the Boca Spicy Chik'n Patties or Nuggets are quite tasty, though much higher in fat and calories than a regular Boca Burger. Also, they have several sausage products. The only one I've found palatable is the brat.

chiff, I too love vegetarian chorizo (mexican style)! We can get it in the supermarkets here in CA, and I actually prefer it to the real thing -- all the flavor without the nasties (real MX chorizo is nothing but fat IMHO).

TVP is truly an amazing thing. There's a little vegetarian Chinese restaurant in Oakland, CA (on the border of Berkeley) that I eat at when visiting my folks. They use a chicken substitute that is fantastic, made from TVP and gluten. The first time I ate there, I swear I had no clue, whatsoever, that the "chicken" dishes weren't made with real chicken! I'm not even kidding.


I've been using Morningstar Grillers for many years. I especially appreciate that I can have cheesebergers with a clear conscience, 'cause I'm kosher and can't otherwise eat meat and dairy products together.

Bisbee and chiff0nade hit on my (unstated) point: I love vegetarian dishes (despite my screen name), but I use mushrooms or beans as the "meat" in them. Hard-cooked eggs are also good.

I'm with Hunter also. I eat meat and often veggie burgers but I don't care for the ones that pretend to be meat.

Boca Burgers are really good. And Tuno makes a great "tuno-fish" salad sandwich. You just need to defrost and squeeze out most of the water, just like you would do with defrosted spinach.

I don't know where you live, but in NYC's Chinatown there's this place that sells chinese vegetarian stuff and their Veggie Chicken Nuggets, their "shrimp", their Smoked Ham and Tuna in red broth are awesome.

I am a vegetarian and do not necesarily care for stuff that "resemble but are not like the real thing I used to eat before" and believe me, I have given these to my meat-eating friends and they have been completely fooled because of their awesome taste.

Madelyn
KarmaFreeCooking

chiff0nade: You found tempeh sour/bitter? When I first tasted it, I was very surprised (given that it is made from fermented soybeans) by the slightly nutty and sweet flavor. I don't eat it terribly often, but I would guess that the stuff you tried had gone off somehow, maybe over-fermented, or fermented at the wrong temperature.

As for a good meat sub, I would recommend the more traditional types which have been eaten for centuries (like tempeh, or seiten). I'm not a fan of texturized soy protein. And to me, tofu isn't a good substitute for meat, since it has a completely different flavor and texture, though it is good in it's own right. The small amount of tempeh I've tasted has had a relatively mild flavor, and a chewy texture somewhat reminiscent of meat. Homemade seiten (very easy to do) has a good texture, but no flavor whatsoever, unless you add some. The seiten that I've purchased has had an unpleasant texture.

All that said, I'm no vegetarian, so if I want some meat, I'll have some. To me, none of these will satisfy a desire for meat, since they aren't meat.

i really like making "fake meat" (which, thankfully, doesn't taste anything like meat) with a mixture of wheat gluten and beans/chickpeas. you can control the texture by how long you knead it and develop the gluten strands. mix in some nutritional yeast, bread crumbs, and season it well, and it's really tasty either baked in the oven or pan-fried.

I usually only turn to it when I'm thinking of lightweight food for backpacking, but I find textured vegetable protein (tvp) can be pretty tasty and versatile.

cookingmonster.com

I'll eat tofu, but that's because I like the texture.

I'm just not a faux meat person. They are so many great legumes, nuts, vegetarian cheeses, mushrooms - the variety's endless and, to my mind, healthier and more satisfying than a TVP patty.

Boca Burgers (original kind) are really good. I also like Boca Brats.

I think the brand is called Fantastic Foods - they have a really good meatless sloppy joe mix. My parents (red meat eaters) take it camping all the time.

And Hormel vegetarian chili is wonderful.

Happy vegetarian eating :)

Tofurky makes really wonderful vegetarian Italian sausage (and cold cuts, if you really want to go into the veggie junk food world, though of course they're still better for you than real cold cuts!). Otherwise, I try to stick to classic tofu and seitan (or eggs, beans, and nuts, of course), but I have never been able to get into tempeh's fermented flavor.

I like the black bean burgers at Chili's so I went home and googled a recipe and found one with about 5 ingredients that uses already cooked black beans (so you can easily pick them up in a can)...I like them with the regular fixin's plus avocado and also just with sauteed mushrooms and melted provolone...

great served with some sweet potato fries...

Yes I would agree, not a fan of fake meat, but just good veggie options for main dishes...like the marinated grilled portabello burger.

Oh, and I am not a vegetarian...I just like my options.

tyronebcookin
AFM menu

Don't forget falafel. So, so easy to make, a delicious treat whether you're a veg-head or not, and an excellent source of protein.

Quorn is pretty yummy.

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